DA's Office Files Charges Over Oxycontin-Laced Yogurt Suicide

The Orange County Sheriff's Department arrested a 65-year-old woman today after alleging that she spiked a World War II veteran's yogurt with Oxycontin so he could commit suicide in Laguna Niguel.

Elizabeth Jane Barrett remains in custody inside the Orange County Jail and faces one felony count of assisting the suicide of Jack Koency, who was 86 years old but, according to Orange County prosecutors, was not terminally ill, bedridden or immobile.

If convicted, Barrett--a resident of Laguna Woods--faces a maximum punishment of three years in a California prison.

According to a press statement by the DA's office, Barrett was likely unaware that Koency's residence had hidden cameras. On Sept. 30, 2011, the cameras allegedly captured her crushing a lethal amount of Oxycontin and then mixing it with Koency's yogurt.

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